Motor mounting structure

ABSTRACT

A motor mounting structure for supporting an outboard motor on a boat which includes a bracket mounted on the boat, a link pivotally mounted on the bracket and a clamp pivotally mounted between flanges at a free end of the link. The clamp engages and supports a housing of the motor. The flanges are drawn together to grip the clamp and hold the clamp in selected angular positions. The link swings through an arc of approximately 180 degrees between an operative position for supporting the motor in upright position outboard of the boat and a retracted position for supporting the motor in substantially horizontal position inboard of the boat.

United States Patent [191 Harris et al. 1 1 Apr. 3, 1973 541 MOTORMOUNTING STRUCTURE 3,674,228 7/1972 Horton ..248/4 [75] Inventors:Garrett H. Harris, Jackson; Edward FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS A.Dutt; Billy J. Savage, both of Starkville, all of Miss. 279,669 11/1927Great Britain ..248/4 [73] Assignee: The Herschede Hall Clock Company,Starkville, Miss. by said Dutt 22 g 'g i a and Savage omeyearce c aeperaus [22] Filed: Apr. 23, 1971 [57] ABSTRACT PP 136,755 A motor mountingstructure for supporting an out- A board motor on a boat which includesa bracket 52 us. 01 ..248/4, 115 17 mounted the mat, a link PW mountedon the 51 1m. 01 ..F16m 1 02 bracket and a clamp Pivotally mountedbetween 58 Field of Search ....24s/4, 284, 286, 2711; 115/17, flanges ata free end of the link- The clamp engages 115/13 and supports a housingof the motor. The flanges are drawn together to grip the clamp and holdthe clamp [56] References Cit d in selected angular positions. The linkswings through an arc of approximately 180 degrees between an UNITEDSTATES PATENTS operative position for supporting the motor in upright2,133,600 11/1933 Har'mon u 243/4 position outboard of the boat and aretracted position 2,905,1-32 9/1959 Lewis et al ..ll5/17X forsupporting the motor in substantially horizontal 3,604,674 .9/19 71Wilkerson ..248/4 position inboard of the boat. 1,466,746 9/1923 Ohlen..248/284 X 3,245,640 4/1966 Ibbs ..248/4 5 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures2% 4/ 144 62 Z91? 7/ 73 5 J42 A 77 7A @125 5 ml .2? 622 24. g, 14 J2MOTOR MOUNTING STRUCTURE This invention relates to outboard motorsfor'boats. More particularly, this invention relates to a retractablesupport structure for an outboard motor.

An object of this invention is to provide a mounting structure for alight weight motor which permits ready raising of the motor from thewater'to swing the motor into the boat when not in use. i

Briefly, this invention provides 'a motor mounting structure whichincludes a bracket which can be mounted on a deck of a boat adjacent anedge thereof, a link pivotally mounted at one end thereof on thebracket, and a motor support pivotally mounted at the other end of thelink. The link swings between an outbracket 24 support a pivot pin 28-onwhich one end of a link member 29 is pivotally supported. A removablewardly extending position in whichthe motor is supported in operativeposition and an inwardly extending position where the motor can besupported inside the boat. As the motor swings inwardly with the link,the motor can swing with respect to the link to a position parallel tothe deck. A slide lock mounted on the link can engage the bracket tohold the link in both positions A lock operating cord extends from thelock along the link and can be operated by a person in the boat in bothpositions of the link. i

The above and other objects and features of the invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertainsfrom the following detailed description and the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in I sectionshowing a boat equipped with a motor mounting assembly constructed inaccordance with an embodiment of this invention, a motor supportedthereby being shown in operative position;

FIG. 2 is a view partly in side elevation-and partly in section showingthe boat illustrated in FIG. 1 with the motor and motor mountingassembly in retracted position;

FIG. 3 is a view in section taken on the line 3--3 in FIG. 2, partsbeing broken away to reveal details of structure;

FIG. 4 is a view in' section taken on an enlarged scale on the line 4-4in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view in section taken on the line 55 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a view in section taken on the line 66 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a bracket andof a link which form a pan of the the arrows 9-9 in FIG. 2, parts beingbroken away to reveal details of construction; and

FIG. 10 is a view in section taken on the line 1010 in FIG. 9.

In the following detailed description and the drawings, like referencecharacters indicate like parts.

In FIG. 1 is shown a bow portion of a boat which includes a deck 22adjacent a bow 23 thereof. A motor wardly extending flanges 26 and 27(FIG. 3) of the pivot pin 31 is carried by spaced flanges 32 and 33(FIG. 10) which are carried by the opposite end portion of the linkmember 29 (FIG. 9). The pin 31 extends through a transverse bore 331(FIG. 10) in a split sleeve clamp 34, and the clamp 34 is pivotallymounted on the pivot pin 31. A spring press detent 341 in the pin 31holds the pin 31 in position. A ring 342 mounted on the pin 31 carries achain 343, which is attached to the link member 29 by a fastener 344 toprevent loss of the pin 31. The clamp 34 is constructed to receive andgrip an upright housing 36 which is a part of an outboard motor 37 (FIG.1). The motor 37 can be of the type which is electrically driven and issometimes called a trolling motor. Power is supplied to the motor todrive a propeller by a power cable 39, only a portion of which is shown,which can be connected to an appropriate battery and controls (notshown). A screw fastener 41 extends through arcuate slots 42 and 43(FIG. 10) in the flanges 32 and 33, respectively, and through bores 44and 46 in lugs 47 and 48 mounted on the split ring clamp 34 on oppositesides of a slot 49 therein. A nut 51 threaded on the screw fastener 41can be turned to draw flanges '32 and 33 toward each other to grip thesides of the split sleeve clamp 34 and to cause the clamp 34 to grip thehousing 36. A handle 52 is pivotally mounted on the nut 51 and can beused for turning the nut 51.

When the pivot pin 31 is removed form the bore 331 and the screwfastener 41 is removed from the bores 44 and 46, the split sleeve clamp34 and the motor 37 can be removed from the link member 29. However,during usual operation, the pivot pin 31 remains in the bore v 331 andthe screw fastener 41 remains in the bores 44 and 46 as shown in thedrawings. A T-shapedlocking member 53 (FIG. 3) is mounted for slidinglengthwise of the link member 29. A stem portion 54 of the lockingmember 53 is received in a guide slot 56between bosses 57 and 58 in thebody of the link member 29. A cover plate 59 attached to the body of thelink member 29 by screw fasteners 61 holds the locking member 53 inposition for sliding movement. A compression spring 62 mounted on theshank of an eyebolt 63, which is mounted on the stem portion 54 of thelocking member 53, bears on a washer 64 which engages bosses 66 and 67of the link member 29 and on an adjustable nut 69 threaded on theeyebolt 63 to urge the locking member 53 to the left as shown in FIG. 3so that locking pins 71 and 72 at opposite ends of the cross bar of thelocking member 53 can be received in inboard slots Y73 and 74 in theflanges 26 and 27, respectively, of the bracket 24 when the link member29 is in the inboard or retracted position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 andthe locking pins 71 and 72 are received in outboard slots 76 and 77(FIG. 3) in'the mounting bracket 24 is mounted on the deck 22. Up-

flanges '26 and 27, respectively, when the link member 29 is in theoperative position shown in FIG. 1. A loop portion 78 (FIG. 3) at anouter end of the eyebolt receives a cord 79 which is attached to theloop portion 78 and extends along the link memberf29 and around arounded end portion 81 (FIG. 8) of the link member 29 so that, when themotor 37 and the link member 29 are in operative position, an operatorinside the boat can :pull a handle 83 (FIG. 1) at a free end of the cord79 to release the locking pins 71 and 72 to permit swinging of the motor37 to the retracted position shown in FIG. 2.

When the motor is in this position, a resilient bumper 86 of rubberorthe like mounted on the link member 29 can rest on an appropriate edgemolding or the like of the deck 22. The cord 79 serves not only forreleasing the locking pins 71 and 72 but also can be used for pullingthe-link member 29 and the motor 37 as they swing from operativeposition to retracted position.

As shown in the drawing, the link swings through an arc of approximately180 degrees as the link swings between operative and retractedpositions. The slots 42 and43 limit the swinging of the motor housing 36and the split sleeve clamp 34 to an angle of approximately 90 withrespect to the flanges 32 and 33 and the link member 29.

The motor mounting structure described above and illustrated in thedrawings is subject to structural modification without departing fromthe spirit an scope of the appended claims. I

What is claimed is:

1 A motor mounting structure for supporting an'outboard motor on a boatwhich comprises a bracket for mounting on the boat, a link pivotallymounted on the bracket at one end of the link, a pair of spaced flangescarried on'the link at an opposite end'thereof, a clamp pivotallymounted between the flanges, the clamp being arranged to engage andsupport a housing of the motor, means for drawing the flanges togetherto grip the clamp and hold the clamp in selected angular positions, thelink being swingablethrough an arc of approximately 180 degrees betweenan operative position for supporting the motor in upright positionoutboard of the boat and a retracted position for supporting the motorin substantially horizontal position inboardof the boat and meanscooperating with and lockingly securing the link in operative position.

2. A motor mounting structure as in claim 1 wherein said means forlockingly securing the link includes a locking member mounted on andslideable lengthwise of the link, the locking member being engageablewith the bracket to lock the link in operative position, and a cord isattached to the locking member and extends outwardly of the link alongan underside of the link when the link is in operative position andalong an opposed outwardly facing surface carried by the link and alongthe upper side of the link when the link is in operative position, thecord being pullable to cause release of the locking member from thebracket and for lifting the link and the motor. to swing the link andthe motor to, retracted position.

3. A motor mounting structure as in claim 2 wherein there is means forresiliently urging the locking member toward the bracket to resilientlyhold the locking member in locked position.

4. A motor mounting structure as in claim 1 wherein there is provisionfor limiting swinging of the clamp to approximately with respect to theflanges of the ink.

5. A motor'mounting structure as in claim 1 wherein the clamp is a splitsleeve clamp and the clamp is caused togrip the housing when the flangesgrip the clamp.

1. A motor mounting structure for supporting an outboard motor on a boatwhich comprises a bracket for mounting on the boat, a link pivotallymounted on the bracket at one end of the link, a pair of spaced flangescarried on the link at an opposite end thereof, a clamp pivotallymounted between the flanges, the clamp being arranged to engage andsupport a housing of the motor, means for drawing the flanges togetherto grip the clamp and hold the clamp in selected angular positions, thelink being swingable through an arc of approximately 180 degrees betweenan operative position for supporting the motor in upright positionoutboard of the boat and a retracted position for supporting the motorin substantially horizontal position inboard of the boat and meanscooperating with and lockingly securing the link in operative position.2. A motor mounting structure as in claim 1 wherein said means forlockingly securing the link includes a locking member mounted on andslideable lengthwise of the link, the locking member being engageablewith the bracket to lock the link in operative position, and a cord isattached to the locking member and extends outwardly of the link alongan underside of the link when the link is in operative position andalong an opposed outwardly facing surface carried by the link and alongthe upper side of the link when the link is in operative position, thecord being pullable to cause release of the locking member from thebracket and for lifting the link and the motor to swing the link and themotor to retracted position.
 3. A motor mounting structure as in claim 2wherein there is means for resiliently urging the locking member towardthe bracket to resiliently hold the locking member in locked position.4. A motor mounting structure as in claim 1 wherein there is provisionfor limiting swinging of the clamp to approximately 90* with respect tothe flanges of the ink.
 5. A motor mounting structure as in claim 1wherein the clamp is a split sleeve clamp and the clamp is caused togrip the housing when the flanges grip the clamp.